


Trust is Another Form of Love

by Kitty514



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-04
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-09-14 16:30:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9193316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kitty514/pseuds/Kitty514
Summary: Newt trusts Credence, enough to be close to something Credence has dealt with his whole life.





	

Newt wipes his brow for the hundredth time that morning, blinking up at the bright artificial sun above him. All around him, he can hear the unmistakable noises of the creatures mulling about, passing by him every now-and-again. He’s been cleaning out the habitats all day, thankfully with the help of Credence. Even with magic on their side, there’s still things that have to be tidied by hand. He’s almost done now, just one small corner of a habitat to clean, and then he can sit in the shade and work on his book.

Newt finishes up the rest of his cleaning quickly, and puts his tools back in a shed. On his way back to the workshop, he spots Credence sitting under a tree, shaded by the far-reaching branches and hardy leaves. The leaves are casting a dark green shadow across Credence’s face and sweat-soaked white shirt. Newt falters a bit as he watches Credence re-do his hair, pulling it out of its up-do then putting it back up again. It’d gotten much longer over the course of a year, elegant dark curls that framed his face nicely. 

“Credence,” Newt calls as he makes his way over to the tree, blaming the roughness in his voice on the heat. “Are you all finished?” 

Credence scrambles up to his feet, seeming to only just notice Newt. “I finished a couple minutes ago.” 

“Why don’t we have some food, then?” 

“That sounds good.” 

Newt glances at Credence as they make their way to the workshop, where Newt started stashing food mainly for Credence, who had more of an appetite than any creature he’d met. Newt wonders if he’s making up for the many years of small portions controlled by Mary Lou, or if the obscurus has anything to do with it. 

Either way, Newt is happy to indulge Credence whenever he wants to eat, glad that Credence feels comfortable around him to make his needs known. Credence had grown bolder over the year he’d been traveling with Newt, standing up straighter and talking louder. Newt enjoyed listening to Credence talk to the creatures when they were making their rounds during feeding time, filling up a silence Newt had never noticed was there before Credence came along. 

Right now, Newt laughs as Credence picks up the niffler on their way to the workshop, finding a stash of coins he’d lost the day before. A smile sticks on Newt’s face as he looks at Credence, the way his face stays soft even when scolding the niffler, his jawline a gentle curve as if it was painted by an artist with a light touch, illuminated by the afternoon sun. Newt’s smile freezes on his face as he realizes where his thoughts are carrying him. 

Newt shakes his head, attempting to clear it. Credence has better things to deal with than Newt having a silly crush on him, though Newt would never admit that he liked Credence like that. Yet, Newt knows it’s more than a crush, not when he feels like he could face the world with only Credence by his side. But it isn’t in his nature to go around blurting out his feelings. 

“How’s the book going?” Credence asks when they’re in the workshop. He’s pulling a loaf of bread off a shelf along with a jar of homemade- or, really, magic-made, for the most part- apricot jam. 

“Good,” Newt answers absentmindedly as he flips through an old notebook, looking for certain notes. “I’m trying to decide whether to put anything about obscurials in the book. They’re not creatures, but not too many people understand them. I don’t have as much research on the subject as I’d like, though.” 

Credence is silent a moment. “I could help.” He places a piece of toast with jam on a plate and a glass of water in front of Newt, standing at the side of the table. “I have better control over it now that I’ve been learning magic. I could tell you what I know about how it works. Or… maybe I could show you.” 

“Show me what?” 

“What it’s like to be inside the obscurus.” 

Newt furrows his brow. “How?” 

“I’ve been practicing,” Credence says, his fingers tapping arrhythmically on the table. “In an empty habitat, of course. I’m able to get the obscurus to wrap itself around trees without harming them. No burns or marks.” He shifts from one foot to the other in a motion that Newt has come to know as Credence being excited. Then Credence stills, frowning. “I’ve never tried it on a person, though. I might hurt you. Maybe it’s not such a good idea.” 

Newt considers all of what Credence has said for a long moment. “Let’s try it.” He glances up at Credence’s surprised face. 

Credence opens his mouth, then closes it. He walks outside and crouches down in the shade. “I don’t know,” Credence says when Newt comes to stand in front of him. “I only said that because you want the research. I don’t want you to get hurt because of me. We’ve been through that enough times already, with me learning magic and with some of the creatures we’ve come across. The obscurus is a lot more dangerous.” 

“I trust you not to let it hurt me. You haven’t let it hurt me yet,” Newt responds easily. It’s the truth, though it’s not one Newt realized he believed until now. If it was anyone else offering this, he’d say no. “If you say you can control it, then I have no reason to doubt you.” 

Credence and Newt stare at each other so long that Newt thinks they’ve both forgotten how to move, how to speak. But then something flashes behind Credence’s dark eyes, and Newt knows that there’s no need for them to speak. Newt takes Pickett out of his pocket and places him on a nearby bush with some fussing. Then he steps closer to Credence and crouches down with his right hand extended palm up. 

Credence’s eyes flick down to Newt’s hand, then back up, curiosity and apprehension crossing his face. Newt nods once, reassuringly. He sees Credence’s throat work as he swallows. Then Credence reaches out with his left hand, letting it hover just above Newt’s hand. Credence’s hand is steady, to the point that Newt can only imagine what it’d be like to have that same hand tracing his skin in the dead of night when the world outside is barely moving or making a sound. 

Newt blinks the thought away quickly. Credence finally moves again, placing his hand on top of Newt’s. 

At first, there isn’t anything but the warmth of Credence’s scarred hand. Newt focuses on that, how the scars rub against Newt’s palm, reminding him of the rough fabric he used to have to wear as a child when company was coming over to the house. He’d almost forgotten about those days, standing around with his back straight as a board, starving but unable to eat anything until all the guests had gotten food, pretending to smile at everyone that came up to him to ultimately talk about his brother’s accomplishments. 

Newt breathes in sharply at the memory and shuts his eyes. The second he does so, a tingling sensation starts at his fingertips, moving up his hand to his wrist. It travels up his arm and spreads across the rest of his body. It’s not unpleasant, just strange. Newt opens his eyes and sees the black mass of the obscurus covering the exposed skin of his arm. Newt inhales sharply. 

Wide eyes meet his as he looks up at Credence. “I can make it stop,” Credence says quickly. “If it’s hurting you, I can make it stop.” 

“No,” Newt whispers. “It’s alright. I’m alright.” 

The tingling turns to warmth, comforting in its own way. Newt doesn’t know whether to trust it, but he trusts Credence. Newt gives into the warmth. Immediately, it’s as if he’s being pulled underwater, the ground beneath him disappearing in a rush. He closes his eyes and gulps in a breath before his head slips underwater. 

Newt blinks his eyes open. He’s met mainly with pitch black darkness. But here-and-there, he can see flashes of golden light, streaking through the dark like traces of hope, of good. Like traces of Credence. He watches the light for a long time; what feels like hours but is only seconds. If he concentrates hard enough, he thinks he can see flashes of Credence’s thoughts, feel what Credence is feeling. His lungs suddenly begin screaming at him to release his breath and pull in new air. 

Newt obliges his lungs’ request, exhaling slowly. He starts to inhale, only to be met with resistance. It’s like someone has pressed their mouth to his, hands gripping his neck to keep him from pulling away for air. Newt starts to panic, then realizes that he’s no longer starving for air. He doesn’t feel the need to breathe, though he knows he’s still inhaling and exhaling. 

In the darkness, and in the flashes of light, Newt can see his own memories, coalescing into all the things he’s ever seen, heard, smelled, felt. He’s overwhelmed by it all, shocked by how easily the obscurus pulls out all of his memories, even the long-forgotten ones. Joy and fear build up in the back of his throat, threatening to close it and actually stop him from breathing. Something is shaking him, stirring the memories and light and darkness around him like someone throwing a rock into the middle of a still pond. 

It breaks his reverie. Everything falls apart around him, his whole body being thrown onto dry land like the ocean spitting him out violently. Newt gasps, blinking profusely. Credence’s face is the first thing to come into focus, concern drawing his eyebrows together and forcing a frown onto his lips. Everything else seems too bright, like staring into the afternoon sun. 

“I’m okay,” Newt says before he pulls in a breath. He coughs, almost expecting water to rush out of his lungs, but nothing comes out. He was never really underwater, he reminds himself. It was all the obscurus. 

Credence removes his hand from Newt’s, and places it on Newt’s neck. It feels surprisingly like what had held him in place only moments before. Would Credence’s lips feel the same as they had in that dark expanse, as well? Newt grasps the hand on his neck. Credence startles a bit but doesn’t move away. 

“Newt,” Credence says, “are you sure you’re okay?” 

Newt nods, forcing himself to talk even though he doesn’t want to hear his own voice right now. “Yes, I’m sure. I was only surprised by what I saw, is all.” 

“The memories. I could see some of yours.” Credence looks down at the ground briefly, then back up at Newt. “Were any of them good? I only caught glimpses of your memories, not enough to know what they were all about.” 

“Quite a few were good, yes,” Newt says, wondering if his memories would stick in the obscurus like a fly caught in a web, ready for Credence to pick up and watch the next time he was in obscurus-form. He wouldn’t really mind, though. There wasn’t much he hid from Credence. He sits down on the ground cross-legged, keeping his grip on Credence’s hand. Credence sits down as well. “Is it like that for you every time?” Newt asks. “The memories and the weird underwater thing.” 

Credence looks down at the ground again, and Newt feels Credence’s hand tighten briefly on his neck before relaxing. “For the most part, it’s like that. I’ve kind of gotten used to it. Most of the memories are bad ones for me, and sometimes I can’t see any of the light. I feel lost in the obscurus a lot, but lately it’s been better now that I’m around you. I have more control.” 

Newt studies Credence’s face, the slope of his nose as he looks down. He lets go of Credence’s hand and reaches over to place his hand under Credence’s chin, tilting his head back up gently. 

“Thank you,” Newt says. “Thank you for showing me what it’s like. I knew you wouldn’t let the obscurus hurt me. And the last thing I want is for you to feel like you’re alone but I… don’t know if I’ll include this in the book; it seems too personal- to me, at least. Another time, maybe, I’ll write about the obscurus for people to educate themselves, and you can help me.” 

Credence seems to work through some words silently, trying to start a sentence. Then he closes his mouth and stares at Newt, like they had been doing before the obscurus had wound its way around him. Credence leans in towards Newt hesitantly. Newt doesn’t move as Credence places a soft kiss to his lips, a mere brushing of lips like two shy schoolchildren sharing a kiss when no one is paying attention. 

Credence pulls back and avoids Newt’s eye. “I also felt what you feel about me. And I feel the same way.” He hesitantly moves his hand to Newt’s heart, where it’s beating hard. Newt holds his breath. “It’s the same as this, as your heartbeat. It’s a good feeling, and I don’t want it to stop.” 

“Me, either,” Newt says when he can finally breathe again. He pulls Credence back in to kiss him. A warmth spreads through his whole body again, but he knows it not from the obscurus. It’s a contented warmth like the one Newt used to experience as a child whenever he’d escape to his room to hide under his covers, reading outlandish stories about fighting monsters and finding true love. 

A small noise right by Newt’s ear makes him break the kiss with Credence. Pickett is standing on his shoulder, sticking out his tongue in disgust. Newt chuckles. Credence chuckles, too, a low and joyful sound. 

“Not a fan of romance?” Newt asks Pickett, who only sticks his tongue out again before crawling back into Newt’s shirt pocket. Newt shakes his head in amusement. Credence smiles at him sweetly, and Newt can’t help but kiss him again. And again. 

Later that night, in Newt’s bed, Credence traces shapes on Newt’s back, in between the scars marking him. Newt sighs serenely, shivering when one of Credence’s scars brushes his, more intimate than anything they could ever think to do. Credence places soft kisses along the length of Newt’s neck before settling down beside him. Outside, the world is quiet and calm, nonexistent to the two of them. 

**Author's Note:**

> [My tumblr](http://kitty-514.tumblr.com)
> 
> [My Wattpad](https://www.wattpad.com/user/Kelby_H)
> 
> Feel free to come chat with me about anything


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